


Let Alone Love

by Syphus



Category: Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Knights of Winter (D&D)
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, F/M, M/M, Multi, Prostitution, angel - Freeform, brothel, sun elf, tabaxi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 21:54:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15805314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syphus/pseuds/Syphus
Summary: For too long, Aritian has assumed he can't love anyone. But tonight, his years of working at a brothel might come to an end.





	Let Alone Love

An angel – a literal angel – was waiting in a brothel. The last place anyone would expect to find such a godly creature, but he was there. He’d been waiting there intermittently, sometimes occupied, sometimes not. He was given food and a room and had been there for too many years to just leave. So he stayed. His name was Aritian and in that moment, a loud-mouthed sun elf was chattering at him like it was the end of the world.

“Oh, Aritian! You just don’t understand me.” The elf, Miriam, collapsed onto the bar they were sitting at, golden hair sprawling over the counter. “All the guys who come here ask for someone beautiful, and who am I to say no? _Who am I?”_

Aritian raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his tea. He baited her, “Yes, who are you?”

“ _I don’t know!_ I just want someone to have a conversation with me, y’know? But it’s all ‘I need a cute chick to fuck’ and here I am! A cute chick, who is available to fuck, and then that’s it! _Fuck,_ Aritian, what the fuck am I doing with my life?”

The angel set down his cup of tea. “Well, you’ve been working at a brothel for a while now.” Miriam groaned. “Maybe you should leave? Find something else?”

She groaned again, “Aritian, we’ve talked about this! It’s impossible to find any decent, straight guy or gay girl these days. Impossible!” Aritian rolled his eyes and turned to face away from the bar, watching the entrance of the brothel.

“I suppose if you think it’s impossible, then it must be.”

“Hm.” The elf tapped her fingers on the counter for a moment before turning to her companion. “ _You_ , however…”

“Uh, me?”

“Aritian, you’re a catch! All you gotta do is ask a regular to sweep you off your feet and take you away on a white stallion, the dream of every boy in town. Just fall in love with the next guy you see, and you’ll be set for life!”

The angel thought for a moment, eyes squinting as he studied the various workers and guests loitering in the brothel’s lobby. “I don’t think I could ever like anyone, let alone love them.”

Miriam gasped, “You like me!”

“Yeah, well, you’re different. You’re not a suitor.” She nodded, humming in agreement.

“Alright, well, I guess if you think it’s impossible, then it must be.”

“Don’t say my words back at me, it creeps me out.”

They sat in silence for a while, listening to quiet conversations and the distant sounds of money being made behind closed doors. Customers came in and out, chatting with the owner of the brothel before paying, leaving, or choosing one (or more) of his colleagues. After so many years of this business, Aritian had forgotten what love was outside of sex. That’s what people came looking for, so he figured it made sense that people could just buy love here. He didn’t have money to buy love, and he felt nothing towards his customers, so he couldn’t love. It was as simple as that.

“Oh, _he’s_ new.” Aritian turned to Miriam. She’d sat up and turned around to face the entrance, hands propping up her chin. Long, golden hair covered most of her face, but he could see intrigue written all over it.

“Who?”

“Him, dummy, look for yourself.” She gestured towards the door.

The angel looked. Talking to the brothel owner was a lean Tabaxi, one of the cat people of Faerûn. He was about as tall as Aritian and was wearing a basic tunic and long, somewhat baggy pants, but no shoes. On each hip hung a sword, the kind that a pirate might have, and his hand-like paws were waving almost frantically as he spoke.

“It looks like he’s never seen the inside of a brothel.”

The sun elf laughed. “I know, it’s so cute.” The brothel owner, Madame Glavbelle, gestured to the workers sitting in the lobby. The Tabaxi’s cheek fur reddened before turning back to the Madame. “I hope he chooses me! I’d love to show him the _ropes_.” She giggled.

“Miriam, it isn’t nice to play with new customers. You’ll scare them off.”

“Me? No, I’d never harm a fly. He’d be fine- Oh! He’s looking this way. Do you think he’s looking at me?”

“I think he heard you. He’s probably going to kill you now.” Instead, Madame Glavbelle waved to them, pointing.

“Aritian!” She called out. “You’re up. Go find Eleanor, you’re together.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Miriam glared up at Aritian as the angel stood. “Y’know, I was hoping for that one.”

“I’m certain he wouldn’t have been ‘the one’. Maybe next time.”

“Sure thing, angel boy. Have fun in there. He’s a cute one.”

“Thanks, I’ll try.”

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: aritian (played by my DM) was a prostitute before he joined our party. i, being a simple player, don't know much about aritian's past, so some of this is a shot in the dark.
> 
> madame glavbelle was a real NPC, but that wasn't her name. i just can't remember it. i made up miriam, and pyre did have sex with aritian and eleanor, but the girl's name probably wasn't eleanor.


End file.
